"Stimulus may lift high-tech in N.E.; Firms well placed to benefit from $37b digital upgrade" by Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff | January 28, 2009
EMC Corp?
"Profit declines 45% at EMC
Data storage company EMC Corp. said its fourth-quarter profit fell 45 percent as one-time restructuring expenses weighed on its results. Excluding charges, the Hopkinton company's results beat Wall Street estimates, but EMC said it would not issue any financial guidance due to the uncertain economy. EMC said its earnings for the quarter fell to $288 million.... Revenue rose 5 percent to $4.02 billion... as businesses continued to buy its typically recession-proof data storage products. EMC... is laying off 2,400 people (AP)."
The vast economic stimulus package now making its way through Congress could bring a welcome bounty to New England's high-tech industries.
Of $825 billion in federal spending proposed by the House of Representatives, at least $37 billion will go to projects aimed at upgrading the nation's digital infrastructure.
Translation: the money is going to be wasted.
Lawmakers want to spend $20 billion to digitize Americans' medical records, another $11 million for "smart grid" projects to computerize the nation's electrical grid, and $6 billion to deliver broadband Internet access to every citizen.
Yeah, this is a GIVEAWAY to CORPORATIONS!
TURN the TV OFF, and LORD HELP US if the computers go down!!!!
Far more will be spent on relatively low-tech infrastructure projects, like building roads and bridges, but even those activities require much supporting digital hardware and software. And Massachusetts has a host of companies, large and small, that are well positioned to cash in on the need.
And the LOOTING of the AMERICAN TAXPAYER CONTINUES!!!!
The stimulus plan "really is expanding the markets for the kinds of technology products and services that Massachusetts companies are very involved with," said Greg Bialecki, undersecretary of the Massachusetts Department of Business Development.
Hear that CASH REGISTER filling up with TAXPAYER DOUGH??
Local companies are especially keen on the proposed medical records upgrade. "Everyone feels that an investment in health IT [information technology] can only drive down costs, improve care, and save lives," said Chris Goode, vice president for global corporate affairs at EMC Corp. in Hopkinton.
Really?
Check out the mess Shinseki has to deal with at the VA after they computerized their records.
Of course, when you have a big, fat, taxpayer check coming, well....
As the world's leading maker of high-end data storage hardware and software, EMC could generate big revenues from an upgrade in medical recordkeeping. Goode said his company's sales teams for the healthcare industry and state and local governments are already on alert for stimulus-related opportunities. "They're developing a strategy to go after those customers," he said.
Oh, I DON'T WANT this WASTE OF TAXPAYER MONEY at all!!!!!
Not ONE DAMN DIME to them!!!!!
Todd Cozzens, the chief executive of Picis Inc. in Wakefield, is also counting on a stimulus boost. Privately held Picis, which had revenues of $125 million in 2008, makes software that documents activities in hospital intensive care wards and emergency rooms. "This is a positive step," Cozzens said of the stimulus plan. "By giving more money to hospitals to adopt IT as a way to improve performance, we think that'll encourage more hospitals . . . to use IT systems," Cozzens said.
Yeah, it's called CREATING a MARKET where there isn't one so you can TOSS TAXPAYER DOLLARS at it -- even if it doesn't work!!
Proposed federal aid for electrical network upgrades will include $4.5 billion for a "smart grid" program that will use computers and new energy storage technologies to distribute power more reliably and with less waste.
"We're certainly optimistic about that," said Bill Capp, the president of Beacon Power Corp. in Tyngsborough. His company makes giant flywheels that temporarily store electric power, then feed it back into the grid to smooth out fluctuations.
Beacon hasn't turned a profit since its founding in 1997, but the company recently began a pilot program with utilities in New England, and is awaiting final regulatory approval for a larger facility in Stephentown, N.Y.
I want to know HOW they STAYED in BUSINESS?
They got TAXPAYER $$$ to keep them afloat, didn't they?
Where is YOUR BAILOUT, readers?
The stimulus plan could lead to still more Beacon Power installations. Capp said his company's flywheels make it easier to combine the steady output of traditional power plants with intermittent power sources like windmills and solar power stations. "Our technology could certainly be considered part of the whole smart grid portfolio," he said.
Pffft!
And projects such as road and bridge work will require digital hardware and software support.
WHY? Seems like mankid has made roads for years without "software support."
Some firms, like Parametric Technology Corp. of Needham, are betting that infrastructure dollars will eventually trickle down to them.
Drop on your head like a diarrhea shower, 'eh?
Parametric, which generated $1 billion in revenue in its 2008 fiscal year, makes product development software for manufacturers. For example, Deere & Co., a major producer of earthmoving equipment, uses Parametric software to design its products. "They may need more of our products if they benefit from this spending," said Neil Moses, Parametric's chief financial officer.
(Blog author enraged as he shakes his head at this obvious waste of money)
But Chris Anderson, the president of the Massachusetts High Tech Council, said there's a risk that the money won't be wisely spent. "I think there's a general concern . . . about the magnitude of the spending and about the fact that a good deal of it is left to elected officials to figure out how to dole out," Anderson said.
Citing the billions in federal funds given to states for homeland security programs in the aftermath of the 2001 terrorist attacks, Anderson said, "There was very little measurable efficient return on that investment. Garbage trucks were purchased with that money in certain municipalities."
I disagree; the return is measurable in the SECRET and SPYING TYRANNY it has CONSTRUCTED and the money it has pissed away to corporations in the name of a lie!
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